Primary Practice
Rolf Rings´ practice centers on patent work, including utility models and designs, in which he is active in prosecution, litigation and licensing as well as in validity proceedings before the EPO, the German Federal Patent Court and the German Patent and Trademark Office. A main area of his work is the elaboration of IP validity and infringement opinions as well as the representation of clients in IP-related infringement proceedings.
His technical specialization lies in the area of automotive engineering, machine tool engineering, hydraulic engineering, medical devices and solar engineering. Together with a team of specialized attorneys-at-law, Rolf Rings has advised major international clients in litigation cases in the automotive industry, the field of medical devices and sanitary products. He regularly counsels a long-standing client in the up-market sector of sports equipment in all IP-related matters. He is also skilled in modern evaluation methods of patent portfolios (patent evaluation), a topic on which he has published articles as well as on the role patents can play in a company's strategic marketing. Rolf Rings has lectured on intellectual property law at the CEIPI in Strasbourg (CEIPI Tutor) for the preparation of candidates for the European Qualification Examination (EQE) of the European Patent Office (EPO). He was appointed as Court Expert in proceedings before the District Court Munich for the evaluation of an IP portfolio (Court Expert Patent Evaluation) due to his technical-economical specialization and education (Dipl. Ing. Mechanical Engineering and Business Administration).
Professional Experience
| 1997 – 1999 | Trainee at the law firm Schuster & Partner, Stuttgart |
| 1999 | Patent engineer at the law firm Bardehle, Pagenberg, Dost, Altenburg, Geissler, Munich |
| 2001 – 2007 | Associate with the law firm Bardehle, Pagenberg, Dost, Altenburg, Geissler, Munich |
| 2007 | Founder and partner of the law firm RINGS Patentanwälte, Munich |
| 2015 | Merger with the law firm Klingseisen & Partner Patentanwälte, transition of the firm to KLINGSEISEN RINGS & Partner Patentanwälte |
Education
| 1991 – 1996 | Studies in Mechanical Engineering and Business Administration (Wirtschaftsingenieurwesen) at Technische Universität Berlin, Germany |
| 1996 | Awarded degree of Dipl. Ing. |
| 1996 – 1997 | Legal Studies of French and International Intellectual Property Law at Centre d’Etudes Internationales de la Propriété Industrielle (CEIPI) at the Université Robert Schuman in Strasbourg, France; International Scholarship of the European Patent Office (EPO) |
| 1997 | Degree of Diplomé du CEIPI |
| 1999 – 2000 | Trainee at the German Patent and Trademark Office and at the German Patent Court |
| 2000 | German Patent Attorney Examination |
| 2001 | Admitted to the German Bar of Patent Attorneys, and as representative before the European Trademark Office (OHIM) |
| 2001 | Admitted as European Patent Attorney |
| 2002 | Registered as a qualified person before the French Patent Office (INPI) |
Memberships
AIPPI – International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property
www.aippi.org
EPI – Institute of Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office
www.patentepi.com
FICPI – International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys
www.ficpi.org
GRUR – Gesellschaft für gewerblichen Rechtsschutz und Urheberrecht
www.grur.de
LESI – Licensing Executives Society
www.les-germany.org
VPP – Association of Intellectual Property Experts
www.vpp-patent.de
Languages
German, English, French
